Drax has awarded COWI a contract for consultancy services to support works in advance of the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) of the Cruachan 2 hydropower project in Scotland.
COWI, in collaboration with the Owner’s Engineer Studio Pietrangeli, will provide Drax with technical advice for the geotechnical, jetty/marine structures and tunnelling elements of the development.
COWI’s involvement in the project will also extend beyond the power station to the wider Cruachan area by tapping into its extensive experience in rail to support considerations made for the railway line beneath which the new access and tailrace tunnels will run.
Cruachan 2 is set to be built within a new, hollowed-out cavern, large enough to fit Big Ben on its side, to the east of Drax’s existing 440MW pumped storage hydro station.
The project will bring an additional 600MW of power, increasing the site’s capacity to over 1GW.
Managing director at COWI UK Andy Sloan said: “We are delighted to have been selected to support Drax with this project. Scotland is undergoing a hydro-pumped storage renaissance.
“There’s a profound opportunity for hydroelectric developments in the UK, particularly in Scotland, which will not only address our need for long-term storage in the UK energy market but support our journey to net zero by 2045.”
A comprehensive construction programme is expected to start in 2025 with ambitions to complete the project by 2030.